A fourth-and-eight touchdown throw from quarterback Aaron Rodgers to receiver Randall Cobb with 46 seconds left to play put the Green Bay Packers ahead of the Chicago Bears 33-28 in a back-and-forth regular season finale Sunday at a cold and windy Soldier Field in Chicago with the NFC North championship on the line.
It was fitting that Rodgers (collarbone) and Cobb (leg), who both returned this game after missing weeks due to injury, connected on the game’s pivotal play, giving the Packers the win, the NFC North title and a home playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
“You see the heart that this team has, to go through what we went through all season and still have a chance to get into the playoffs,” Cobb said. “To have a game like we played tonight … we found a way to win the game. I think it speaks a lot about our team.”
The Packers fell behind 28-20 early in the fourth quarter when Bears quarterback Jay Cutler found receiver Brandon Marshall for a 5-yard touchdown.
Getting the ball back with 14:50 left in the game, Rodgers engineered a six-play, 77-yard drive capped with a Eddie Lacy touchdown run for six yards.
With 11:38 left to play, the Packers opted to take the extra point and leave the Bears a one-point lead.
The Packers' defense came up with a stop, forcing a punt on fourth-and-17 from the Packers' 45-yard line.
The Packers began their final drive with 6:24 left on the clock and were twice forced to go for it on fourth-and-one, from their own 22 and again on their own 44. Fullback John Kuhn converted the first try on a short dive, and the second was converted when Rodgers found his favorite target, Jordy Nelson, who finished the day with 10 catches for 161 yards.
“A character drive for us right there,” Rodgers said. “McCarthy let us go for it. John stuffed it up in there to get us enough. A timing pass to Jordy, a tough catch, low one to keep the drive going.”
The Bears' defense forced another fourth down after Rodgers missed Nelson on a pass down the right sideline. In the game’s final minute and needing to prevent the Packers from getting eight yards, the Bears blitzed extra defenders.
Rodgers avoided the initial onslaught, rolled out of the pocket and sent the ball sailing down the field.
“Oh my gosh, it was in the air for so long,” Cobb said. “I had so many thoughts going through my head, ‘You better not drop it,’ ‘If you drop it they are going to kill you,’ ‘Just catch it.’”
Cobb did catch it and dove the final few yards into the end zone for a 48-yard touchdown. His other catch of the day was a 7-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
“We brought it, but that was Aaron Rodgers being Aaron Rodgers,” Bears cornerback Tim Jennings said.
“When you have a zero blitz on, things can happen,” Chicago coach Marc Trestman said. “We just lost coverage with our eyes in the backfield.”
Rodgers, when asked to rank the play among the best of his career, said it was, “right near the top.”
After a 29-yard return by Devin Hester on the Bears’ ensuing drive, Cutler was able to find tight end Martellus Bennett for a long gain on first down, but threw two incompletions and then was picked off in the end zone by cornerback Sam Shields on third-and-10 with 10 seconds left.
Rodgers finished the day 25 of 39 passing for 318 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
“I thought Aaron played great,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. “We can sit here and talk about what he didn’t do, but I think we can clearly focus on what he did do.”
Rodgers had a rough start to the game. His first two drives ended with interceptions, the first in the end zone to Bears safety Chris Conte.
The second came after the Bears took a 7-0 lead on a Cutler to running back Matt Forte 4-yard touchdown pass. After driving to the Bears’ 26-yard line, Rodgers sent a pass high to Nelson that was tipped to Jennings.
After the Packers’ defense held, Rodgers engineered a 10-play, 49-yard drive that ended with a 33-yard Mason Crosby field goal to cut the Bears’ lead to 7-3.
The Packers first touchdown came later in the second quarter when Rodgers was strip sacked. While most of the players thought it was a forward pass, the ball was never blown dead. Rodgers and the Packers sideline then implored Jarrett Boykin, who had casually picked the ball up, to head for the end zone. Boykin did and gave the Packers a 10-7 lead.
“One of the crazier plays I’ve been a part of,” Rodgers said.
A 27-yard field goal by Crosby before the half put the Packers up 13-7.
The Bears got 5-yard and 1-yard touchdown runs from Forte in the third quarter. Forte finished with 110 yards on 22 carries. Cutler was 15 of 24 passing for 226 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. His favorite target was Brandon Marshall, who had six catches for 74 yards.
Lacy finished with 66 yards on 21 carries. Running back James Starks ran for 88 on 11 carries.
The 49ers, who beat the Arizona Cardinals in their regular season finale, will play the Packers at 3:40 p.m. Sunday at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
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